AFE — July/August 2012
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Executive Directions
Welcome to Facilities America 2012
"STEM” or science, technology, engineering and mathematics education is aptly named, because education really is the stem from which all the branches of facilities engineers and operations professionals grow. All of these fields, especially engineering and technology education, receive too little attention in schools today. Strengthening STEM education in the United States and around the world is critical to developing a new generation of facilities professionals to fill the growing number of available positions in the field. We need this new generation to keep ourselves and our country competitive in the global marketplace, and to help solve some of the most complex problems humans have ever faced. But education cannot stop when we graduate from school. Whether we have a high school diploma or a master’s degree in engineering, whether we work in the boiler room or the boardroom, we must continue our learning throughout our careers. We will face new technologies, new solutions to old problems, and new problems without solutions throughout our careers. If we do not keep abreast of these challenges, not only will we fall behind professionally, but so will our facilities, our employers and, potentially, our global infrastructure. This is where Facilities America comes in. The Facilities America Educational Forum is one of AFE’s most important professional development opportunities for our members and for the entire community of facilities professionals. On behalf of the leaders and members of AFE, I’m proud and happy to welcome you to Facilities America 2012.
At Facilities America, we offer educational programs for everyone in facilities engineering, operations, maintenance and management. Our major tracks include sustainability, critical facilities and career development. You will learn about the latest advancements in technology, how to keep critical facilities like hospitals, data centers, and water treatment plants up and running 24 hours a day, and how to adapt your existing building so that it can save energy (and money) while reducing its impact on the environment.
Facilities America offers much more than just technical education sessions. Our keynote speaker, Nancy Bechtol, director of facilities for the entire Smithsonian Institution and its many museums, will share what it is like to operate the facilities. She will discuss how her team keeps everything — from tiny insects to giant rockets — safe, and how they accommodate the millions of people who visit the Smithsonian facilities every year. During our Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill, you will have the opportunity to interact and share your ideas with the people who shape federal legislation about buildings and the facilities industry. Our Leadership Development Institute will prepare you to guide groups of all kinds to effectively meet their goals.
At Facilities America 2012, you will have special opportunities to network with your colleagues and to celebrate everyone’s success. Whether you are attending the Chapter Awards Reception or standing under the wing of an SR-71 spy plane during our facilities tour at the Smithsonian, you can talk to other facilities professionals in a relaxed, intimate setting that will allow you to share knowledge and come away with new friends and new ideas. And at the Facilities Expo, you will discover the latest innovations in the field, and be able to have individual discussions with our exhibitors while sharing a cup of coffee or a snack.
If you are reading this at Facilities America, welcome. Enjoy your time and learn as much as you can. If you are not at Facilities America 2012, make plans now to join us in 2013 so you won’t miss a premier professional development opportunity in the facilities world.
Wayne W. Carley, PhD
Executive Director
"STEM” or science, technology, engineering and mathematics education is aptly named, because education really is the stem from which all the branches of facilities engineers and operations professionals grow. All of these fields, especially engineering and technology education, receive too little attention in schools today. Strengthening STEM education in the United States and around the world is critical to developing a new generation of facilities professionals to fill the growing number of available positions in the field. We need this new generation to keep ourselves and our country competitive in the global marketplace, and to help solve some of the most complex problems humans have ever faced. But education cannot stop when we graduate from school. Whether we have a high school diploma or a master’s degree in engineering, whether we work in the boiler room or the boardroom, we must continue our learning throughout our careers. We will face new technologies, new solutions to old problems, and new problems without solutions throughout our careers. If we do not keep abreast of these challenges, not only will we fall behind professionally, but so will our facilities, our employers and, potentially, our global infrastructure. This is where Facilities America comes in. The Facilities America Educational Forum is one of AFE’s most important professional development opportunities for our members and for the entire community of facilities professionals. On behalf of the leaders and members of AFE, I’m proud and happy to welcome you to Facilities America 2012.
At Facilities America, we offer educational programs for everyone in facilities engineering, operations, maintenance and management. Our major tracks include sustainability, critical facilities and career development. You will learn about the latest advancements in technology, how to keep critical facilities like hospitals, data centers, and water treatment plants up and running 24 hours a day, and how to adapt your existing building so that it can save energy (and money) while reducing its impact on the environment.
Facilities America offers much more than just technical education sessions. Our keynote speaker, Nancy Bechtol, director of facilities for the entire Smithsonian Institution and its many museums, will share what it is like to operate the facilities. She will discuss how her team keeps everything — from tiny insects to giant rockets — safe, and how they accommodate the millions of people who visit the Smithsonian facilities every year. During our Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill, you will have the opportunity to interact and share your ideas with the people who shape federal legislation about buildings and the facilities industry. Our Leadership Development Institute will prepare you to guide groups of all kinds to effectively meet their goals.
At Facilities America 2012, you will have special opportunities to network with your colleagues and to celebrate everyone’s success. Whether you are attending the Chapter Awards Reception or standing under the wing of an SR-71 spy plane during our facilities tour at the Smithsonian, you can talk to other facilities professionals in a relaxed, intimate setting that will allow you to share knowledge and come away with new friends and new ideas. And at the Facilities Expo, you will discover the latest innovations in the field, and be able to have individual discussions with our exhibitors while sharing a cup of coffee or a snack.
If you are reading this at Facilities America, welcome. Enjoy your time and learn as much as you can. If you are not at Facilities America 2012, make plans now to join us in 2013 so you won’t miss a premier professional development opportunity in the facilities world.
Wayne W. Carley, PhD
Executive Director
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